The Sickness
by speed killz
Summary: InuYasha keeps transforming into a full demon every night as a result of bad dreams that depict Kagome being killed on the battlefield...COMPLETE! LAST CHAPTER UP!Sequel is called The Sickness 2. Please read and review that if you liked this one!
1. Chapter 1

InuYasha sat down next to Kagome, and crossed his arms over his chest. He said nothing, but Kagome knew what he was thinking.

"It'll be alright, InuYasha, you'll see." She said soflty, touching him on the arm. "You won't transform tonight, don't worry about it." InuYasha knew she was talking about his demon side. He had startled her the other night, because he had transformed into a full demon, and had lost control of his body. He also had no memory of what had happened. Apparently he had just been crouching beside her staring at her, grinding his fangs together, and breathing heavily. She had woken up, and had been scared by him staring at her with his deep, red eyes. She had reached out to him tentatively, and stroked his face. When she did that, he shuddered and returned to a half-demon. Then had asked her what the hell was going on. She had told him to go to sleep, that she would explain it in the morning. InuYasha didn't recognise the emotion on her face, so had complied without disobeying. When she told the group in the morning, Shippou had hid behind Sango, making InuYasha feel even worse, although he would never show it. Kagome knew though. She knew he was ashamed of what he did. And it had kept happening. Night after night, he would transform and continue to watch over Kagome through the night, then pass out and sleep all day. After the second time, Kagome had started to pretend to sleep, although she hoped that InuYasha in his heightened form wouldn't notice. She was really worried about him, InuYasha knew.

He looked up at the setting sun, and frowned. Kagome sighed, and hugged him, putting her arms around his neck. InuYasha blushed as she placed a small kiss on his cheek, and sat down closer to him. He put his arm around her, and closed his eyes, feeling his muscles relax. He felt Kagome put her arm around him, reaching further around him. She began to rub his shoulder, and InuYasha tilted his head onto her shoulder. Kagome smiled as his dog-like ear twitched against her cheek. Kagome sat like that for awhile, watching the sun set. When it dipped below the horizon, she gently shook InuYasha awake, wishing she didn't have to. She took his hand, and helped him stand up.

"Come on, InuYasha, let's go inside."

"Yeah..."

He held onto her hand as they walked toward their hut, taking slow steps, enjoying the last rays of sunshine on their backs. As they entered the hut, Sango and Kirara looked up. Kirara mewled soflty, and walked over to InuYasha, rubbing up against his leg, purring softly. InuYasha caught Sango's smile, and picked up Kirara. He gave her a thorough back-scratching, and set her down softly. He moved over to the fire in the centre of the room, and removed a stick from the depths of the flames. He sniffed the impaled fish tentatively, then took a huge bite out of it, sitting down cross legged on the floor. Kirara mewled again, and put her paw on InuYasha's leg. InuYasha looked down at the two-tailed cat, and held his hand, letting the neko sniff over the fish. InuYasha smiled as the cats nose twitched, and then watched as the small bundle of fur opened its mouth and bit into the fish, ripping off a small chunk of warm fish. InuYasha raised the fish to his face, and examined it. It now bore a set of dog-like teeth marks in it, and a tiny set of cat teeth marks. InuYasha grinned and ripped off another chunk of fish, chewing it thoroughly. Suddenly, Kagomes hand reached past his shoulder, and grabbed the fish out of his hand. He turned, and looked at her as she took a bite out of the fish, handing it back to him. She turned and walked over to Sango, and InuYasha followed her every movement, admiring her body. He finished the fish, and stood up, folding his arms across his chest, eyes closed. He walked out the door, and headed towards the forest, alone.

Kagome didn't notice him leave, as she was talking to Sango about her brother, Kohaku, so when InuYasha walked in, Kagome was startled.

"Where were you, InuYasha?" She asked, worried about him turning into a full-demon with no one to stop him. Or attempt to stop him, she thought wryly. She knew that it was a lot darker out than she was comfortable with, so she questioned him readily.  
InuYasha's face turned red, and he looked away from her.

"Well, ...you know...just..." Kagome leaned closer to him, and tilted his head up, forcing him to look at her. She looked into his eyes, and suddenly she understood what he meant. He was out taking care of business.

"Oh..." She said softly, her face flushing. She looked away from him, and let her hand slide off his face, down his chest, to fall by her side. She looked back up at him, saw him looking at her, and she looked away again. He walked past her, and sat down on the floor, letting himself fall into a lying down position. He stared at the wall across from him, letting his eye lids slowly drift closed. Kagome dug through her backpack, and pulled out a think, heavy blanket, as the temperature plummeted with the onset of night. She threw it over InuYasha's shoulders, and got a sweater out of her bag, pulling it over her head. InuYasha opened his eyes, heard Kagome moving around behind him, felt the blanket land on his shoulders, and he smiled, closing his eyes again.

"Well, Sango, I must retire," Miroku said, "Care to join me?" Sango glared at him. "In your dreams, you pervert monk." Miroku smirked. "Oh, Sango, in my dreams, you do more than just join me in retirement for the night." Sango blushed, and growled, looking around wildly for something to throw at him, for he was standing, and she was too tired to get up and slap him. She grabbed an empty bowl, and hurled it at him, smirking in satisfaction as it bounced off his head, producing a hollow thumping sound. Miroku grinned and rubbed his head, as he lay down for the night. Sango turned away from him and looked out the doorway, past the trees and light fog, to the stars above, glimmering brightly in the night sky. She sighed, and Kagome sat down next to her, putting her arm around her. She had just finished covering up Shippou, and had turned around to find Sango looking at the sky, sighing sadly. Kagome pulled Sango towards her, letting her best friend rest her head on her shoulder. She knew what was bothering Sango. She knew what was bothering both of them. Sango was worried about her brother, Kohaku, and also about the trouble InuYasha was going through. She closed her eyes and relaxed, moving a bit closer to Kagome's gentle warmth. Kagome rubbed Sango's arm, and began to hum softly one of the lullabys that her mom used to sing to her. Soon enough, Sango's slow and soft breathing assured that Sango was indeed sleeping, and Kagome placed a kiss on her forehead before extracting herself carefully from Sangos grasp. Sango had indeed put her arm around Kagomes waist. Kagome layed her gently on her back, placed a pillow under her head, and dropped a blanket over her. She checked on Shippou, yawned, and climbed under the covers with InuYasha. In her fatigue, she didn't notice his small moan, or his eyes squeezed closed angrily, his mouth formed into a small grimace.

InuYasha's dream

I walked over the top of the hill, and called out to the others behind me, that I had found Naraku's castle. I turned around, and caught the scent of Kagome, her sweet, soft scent tickling and teasing my nose, and I knew that if I didn't control myself, I would be all over her in a matter of seconds. I must have looked at her too long, because Miroku was getting that look on his face, Sango was warning him not to say anything, and Kagome was looking at me weirdly. I looked away, and growled out harshly, "Hurry the hell up, you guys, I finally got Narakus damn castle." Miroku came up to stand beside me on the crest of the hill, overlooking the castle, now unprotected by his damnable shields, and nodded. Kagome came up on my other side, and her arm brushed against mine, making a shiver run through my body. Oh, man, how I longed to kiss her, to taste her sweet flesh, to lick parts of her that would make her moan with pleasure, to...O...shit. Goddammit! I blushed and hoped no one noticed the bulge in my pants. I folded my arms over my chest, letting my sleeves hang down in front of me to cover me up. Sango happened to look down at Shippou standing by my feet, as she was taking a drink from a bottle that Kagome had given her, and had obviously seen something, because she started spluttering, and choking on the liquid, coughing loudly as she attempted to spit out or swallow the liquid. Miroku rubbed her back, rubbed her ass, and asked if she was okay. She was so embarrassed she couldn't even slap Miroku for groping her, and just nodded, keeping her eyes adverted away from me. I held my arms a bit closer to my chest, and a bit lower too, but there was no need, for it had all but dissappeared as I concentrated on the idea of slicing Naraku to pieces. We started down the hill, my eyes scanning every bush, nook and rock for the possibility of an ambush, while Miroku and a still blushing Sango took to the skies on Kirara. Suddenly, a horde of demonstook flight from behind the castle, and I drew Tetsusaiguia, ready to perform the Windscar. Kagome put an arrow to her bow, and drew it back tight, aiming for the centre of the demons. She released the bow at the same time I released the Windscar, taking out multiple enemies. I felt my blood heat up, and the thrill of battle threaten to overwhelm me as I ran down the hill, sword slashing left and right, dark red blood spilling out of the severed corpses, covering my fang with a slippery sheen of liquid. I jumped over a rocky patch of ground, raised my sword over my head, and slashed downward, releasing the Windscar, feeling the power of it in my hands, roaring up through my arms as the shockwave reverberated through the ground. I let out a feral yell as I slashed open a demon that had evaded my Windscar with my claws, feeling the warm blood splash all over my face. I kept on running toward the castle, determined to reach Naraku no matter how many of the same old demons he threw at me. I was driven by the image of him sneering as he clutched the rapidly darkening Sacred Jewel in his hands. I laughed at the sheer power i felt as one of Kagomes arrows whizzed by my head, instantly killing more demons, reducing their numbers to about 1500. Thats when I knew it. This was the fnal battle. We knew Naraku was here, we found his castle, and he was now throwing every demon he had at us. I knew deep down that it was either him, or us that was gonna die, and I was gonna do every damn thing I could to protect me and Kagome, and the group. That was when I heard it. The sound of Kagome's tortured scream. I whirled around, and saw, way across the field that I had cut my way through, and saw Kagome lying on the ground in a puddle of blood, surrounded by demons. I raced over as fast as I could, feeling as though I would never make it, screaming her name, feeling the tears run down my face, blurring my vision. As I dropped down beside her, I could detect no movement in her chest. I placed my finger on her throat, and felt no pulse. I slashed the air angrily, screaming her name as a nameless demon swept down to attack me.

InuYasha awoke, gasping for breath, sweat pouring down his face, covering his body. He sat up, and focussed on Kagome, and growled softly, his eyes flashing red in the darkness. He leaned forward on his haunches, over Kagome's prone body, and for an instant, InuYasha had a flashback to his dream, with Kagome lying in the exact same position, covered in blood. Kagome stirred as InuYasha growled louder, his confused mind wondering why she wasn't moving. Kagome awoke, sat up, and blinked a few times, opening her eyes to stare into InuYasha's blood red orbs. InuYasha snarled at her, but Kagome wasn't scared, instead she whispered his name.

"InuYasha..."  
As she said his name, something clicked in InuYasha's mind, and he lunged forward to put his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Kagome hugged him back, stroking his back, and rubbing his ears. Kagome felt something wet leak through her shirt, and when she pulled away from him to look at him, there were tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. When he opened his eyes, they were back to their normal golden state, and he hugged her again. Kagome kissed him on the mouth, and put her mouth by his ear.

"It's alright, InuYasha, I'm okay, just relax, and go to sleep."  
InuYasha nodded, and laid down next to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to his body. Kagome closed her eyes, and put her hand on top of InuYasha's, on her stomach. InuYasha fell asleep soon after, holding Kagome close.

InuYasha awoke, and slowly removed his hand from Kagomes stomach, and rubbed his face, pushing his silver hair out of his face as he glanced aroung the room. Sango was preparing breakfast, Miroku was cleaning his staff, and Kagome was still sleeping. Suddenly he remembered. He had transformed last night. He remembered his dream, and the anger and sadness he felt when Kagome had "died", in his dream, and how he had woken up as a full demon, sitting guard next to Kagome, watching her sleep, and the peace he had felt when she said his name, and kissed him. InuYasha thanked her silently for all she had done for him, and he leaned over to kiss her on the throat, then the cheek. He got up, and accepted the bowl of rice and chopsticks from Sango, eating it slowly as he thought about what was happening to him. Suddenly, Kagome put her arms around InuYasha's neck, startling him, as he was unaware that she had awoken. InuYasha purred softly and licked her wrist, recieving a hug and a kiss on the throat for his efforts. Miroku sat down in front of InuYasha.

"Did you transform again last night, InuYasha?" He asked, looking at him seriously. Kagome moved to InuYashas side, as InuYasha nodded.

"Yeah, I did." He noticed Sango sit up a bit straighter. "The only difference is, I remember it all this time." He said, explaining it all to them. He blushed a bit when he got to the part where Kagome kissed him, and where he cried, but he knew that they would understand the feelings he had for Kagome.

"We have to figure this out immediately, InuYasha, your body can't take repeated transformations. Your flesh will wear out long before anything else happens." Miroku said, and the implications of how serious this was slowly started to dawn on them. InuYasha grimaced, and realized that he had been indeed feeling more and more tired after every transformation.

"I can only hope to find a way to stop these damn transformations, and they are somehow linked to my recurring dreams of Kagome being killed on the battlefield." InuYasha said, wondering what was going on inside his body.

AN: haha what an awful place to stop...but it me bed time, so...ciao.


	2. The Timeline

The Sickness, Chapter 2.

InuYasha glared up at the sky, and appeared to some to be a bit peaceful, but inside he was picking apart his strange dream to find out what he could about it. So far he knew only a few things...One, he kept transforming into a full blooded demon every time he had a nightmare about Kagome dying, apparently a reaction by his body to these thoughts. Two, the changes were taking a toll on his body, and he was finding it harder and harder to concentrate on anything the day following a transformation. Three, as far as he knew, he would keep transforming until he stopped having these dreams...Thats it!

InuYasha sat up, and looked down through the branches of the tree he was in to Kagome below, and realized that while everyone was trying to keep him from changing, they had neglected to think about _why_ he was changing. Because of the dreams, he knew. So, he thought, if I can stop myself from dreaming, then I won't transform! He smirked. Not bad for a half-demon, he thought. He jumped down from the tree, and walked towards Kagome, telling her what he had figured out. Kagome patted him on the head, and said good dog, making him growl at her.

"Hey, I'm not a dog, ya know!" He yelled at her, watching her walk toward the village. "Hey, are you listening to me?" He yelled, dumbfounded as she continued walking toward the village. He gave up, and followed her, jogging a bit to catch up with her. As he pulled even with her, he forced himself to look straight ahead. He folded his arms in his Haori, and kept pace with her gentle strides. They walked in silence for a minute, before Kagome said softly, " InuYasha...we already knew that, ya know. Thats what we were working on."

"What...?" InuYasha said, having already forgotten what he had thought of.

"You know, that whole thing about if you somehow stop dreaming, then you won't change." She said, looking over at him. InuYasha narrowed his eyes. "Well, why the hell didn't you tell me sooner!" He yelled, his right eye twitching, his hands clenched into fists.

Kagome laughed nervously. "Uh..hehe...'cause we thought it was OBVIOUS!." She said, not believing he could be that stupid. Then she remembered how she had almost got injured by a demon, and the Tetsusiaguia was too heavy for InuYasha to wield properly, but he had somehow 'forgotten' how heavy it was, and had managed to slay the demon...then had promptly complained about his blade being too damn heavy. InuYasha was silent at that one, mystified as to how he could argue that one. When they got back to Kaede's cabin, Sango was waiting there for them, with a new development.

"I think I may have something for you, InuYasha." She said tossing a small pouch up into the air, and catching it. She was doing this repeatedly, and InuYasha followed the bag with his eyes.

"What...?" He said warily, hoping it wasn't some spell or sleeping potion.

"It's a slee-" She was cut off as InuYasha's hand shot out and snagged the bag out of the air, opening it and bringing it to his face to sniff it.

"Is it food?" He asked, grimacing at the smell that emanated from the bag, which contained a black grainy powder. Sango grabbed the bag back form him, her long black pony-tail whipping around her shoulders with the momentum of her speedy movements.

"No, InuYasha, as I was trying to say before, it's a sleeping potion that induces a dreamless state of unconsciousness, and the length of the state of sleep is determined by how much of it you take." She said, once again bouncing the bag in her hand, knowing that the dog in InuYasha was itching to grab it.

"Augh! A damn sleeping potion! C'mon, you gotta have something better than that, Sango!" InuYasha said, hoping he didn't have to take the disgusting smelling powder. Sango shook her head, and dumped a bit of the black powder into a bowl of water, and handed it to InuYasha.

"Drink it." She ordered, forcing him to take it. InuYasha grimaced, and turned away from the black coloured water, curling his nose up at it. "No." he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"InuYasha..." Kagome warned, arching her eyebrow at him. "Si..." InuYasha grabbed the bowl and tipped the foul smelling liquid into his mouth, swallowing hastily. Immediately, he began to feel drowsy, and as he began to sway on his feet, Sango feared that she may have over-estimated the proportions. InuYasha's eyelids slid closed, and his knees buckled as the powder took over his body, shutting him down. As he fell, Kagome and Sango rushed in from either side, and grabbed his arms, lowering him gently to the ground. Kagome smiled softly at his peaceful, now sleeping face. She was actually surprised at how fast that had knocked him out. She sat down next to him, and watched him sleep, as the mid-afternoon sun rose high into the sky. Sango and Miroku left to search the immediate area for traces of demons, mainly, Naraku. About an hour later, InuYasha awoke, groaning softly.Kagome placed a hand on his shoulder, immediately concerned about him.

"Whats wrong, InuYasha?" She asked, as InuYasha placed his hand on his forehead. InuYasha opened one eye and looked at her. "My head is killing me, I got a huge-ass headache..." Jus then, Sango and Miroku walked in, and InuYasha jumped up, wincing at the pain it caused.

"What the hell did you do to me, Sango!" He yelled, pointing at his head. "My head is killing! Arrg! I'm gonna..." He drew back his fist, and put his weight behind it, driving it as hard as he could toward his target. BAM! Miroku dropped to the ground, screaming and holding his face. Sango jsut smirked as Miroku wailed loudly, further increasing the pain in InuYasha's head. InuYasha kicked Miroku, and that shut him up.

"The pain will dissipate in a matter of seconds...it's as easy as getting a drink of water, for your're dehydrated, InuYasha." Sango said, giggling. InuYasha grabbed a bowlful of water and gulped it down, feeling the pain dissappear... He squeezed his eyes closed again as fresh pain tore through him, and Sango chuckled.

"What!" InuYasha demanded, holding his head.

"Your're only supposed to take small sips InuYasha, not gulp it down." She said, laughingly. InuYasha grumbled to himself, and proceeded to take small sips from the remainder of the water in the bowl, feeling the pain dissappear once again. InuYasha sat down, and crossed his arms over his chest and wondered if he could stand to take that stuff tonight. But at the same time, he knew he had to if he wanted to keep from transforming. Suddenly, Sango came bursting into the cabin, breathing heavily and grabbing her demon slaying outfit.

"Whats going on, Sango?" Kagome asked, jumping up.

"Quick, InuYasha, Kagome, get ready to fight, we've found the trail of Naraku!" She said, turning around and taking her clothes off. InuYasha blushed and adverted his gaze, as he caught sight of her beautiful body. Sango, oblivious to InuYashas embarrassment, quickly put on her demon slayer outfit, and grabbed her Hiraikotsu as she ran out the door. Kagome grabbed her bow, and ran out the door, with InuYasha on her tail as he affixed Tetsususaiguia to his side. He let Kagome climb onto his back, then leapt into the sky, following Kirara. As InuYasha was sailing over the forest, courtesy of a powerful jump, he caught a glimpse of red in the trees below. He glanced down, as the red flashed away into the underbrush. He dismissed it, and kept on going, the only thing on his mind was the slaying of Naraku. He jumped over Kirara, looking down to see Sango looking up at him, grinning widely at him. He felt Kagomes hands around his neck clutch him a little closer, as he dropped toward the ground. Again, he thought he seen a glimpse of blood red through the foilage, but as he tried to focus on it, it eluded him, dissappearing on him again. He was starting to lose focus on the task of finding Naraku, and it was starting to annoy him. He sniffed the air, and thought he smelled the faint scent of Naraku. Sango, Miroku, and Kirara tore by him as they rushed toward the source of Narakus scent. InuYasha froze as they came up to a large hill, exactly like the one in his dreams.

Maybe his dreams weren't nightmares, he thought, maybe they were _prophecies_. InuYasha felt his stomach tighten as he crested the hill. When he reached the top, he swore viciously as, just like in his dream, Narakus castle was sitting at the bottom of the hill.

"InuYasha...Its just like your dream..." Kagome said, brushing her arm against his as she came to stand next to him. InuYasha gasped as he felt her arm touch him. He recalled that when he had told the story to the group, he had left out the little details like that. Not even Kagome knew she was following a script, a script in which she was about to follow...to her death. InuYasha took a single step over a line he knew existed in his dream, and right on queue, a horde of demons rose up from behind the castle. He would not let anything happen to Kagome, he knew.

"Sango, Miroku, you cover the sky! Don't let any demon pass!" He yelled, starting down the hill, intent on putting a wide berth between Kagome and any demons, using himself as the barrier. He swung his sword ferociously, and he could not know that he himself was fullfilling the scripts that were written out for him. InuYasha unleashed the Windscar multiple times, and again he had that strange feeling of dèja vu, as Kagome's arrow tore by him, exactly as foretold. He knew that if everything happened exactly as planned, then Kagome had about thirty seconds to live. He cut down another demon, and looked behind him, feeling the fear build up in his stomach. Kagome was putting another arrow to her bow, and still not a demon within a couple hundred feet of her. He looked forward again, and sliced another couple demons asunder, not bothering to look behind him, as thats where their carcasses had landed. InuYasha forged on, while the pieces of the dead demons started to fuse back together, and slink through the grass, drawn toward Kagome by the shikon shards. InuYasha tried to sniff out any discernable threat to Kagome, but was unable to, surrounded by demons as he was. He had just finished slaying another demon, and had gained more ground toward Narakus castle, when he heard it. Kagome screaming his name.

"INUYASHA!"  
InuYasha whirled around, and just like before, he saw Kagome lying on the ground in a puddle of blood, surrounded by demons. InuYasha screamed her name, but strangely heard nothing, as his brain wasn't recieving anything that his ears were telling him. He tried to run, but couldn't move. Suddenly there was a searing pain in his abdomen, and he looked down at his stomach to see that he had been run through by a demon.

'_T-this isn't the way it's supposed to end...not like this...how Kagome must have hated me, in the end, not being able to protect her...IM SORRY, KAGOME!'_ He thought, feeling the tears run down his face, as his vision blurred, darkening at the edges. InuYasha slumped forward, as all feeling in his body dissappeared, and his vision went black. The last thing he saw was his own arm reaching out toward Kagomes prone body, reaching but never quite getting there.

InuYasha opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground. He sat up, and groaned as his stomach started to burn. He lifted his haori, and gasped as he saw a large bloody hole in his abdomen, and as he recognised it, he instantly remembered everything, and perhaps that was the only thing that saved him. And her. He looked up into the sky just in time to see something fly over his head, a big white flaming animal, and a flash of red. He looked closer, and recognised the figures as himself, and his friends. He didn't know what the hell happened, but he knew that he had been given a second chance...a second chance to save himself, and Kagome. He got up, and began running in the direction that he saw himself dissappear to, keeping his eyes on the sky, searching for his self, in the past. Thats what he was doing, he knew, he was watching himself in the past, and was being given a chance to correct any mistakes he had made. It was all clear to him, yet he didn't have a clue as to how to do it. InuYasha glimpsed himself through the foilage, and wondered what would happen if he let himself be seen by himself. He decided not to, feeling like he had already been seen, or at least glimpsed by himself. He hurried on, and came to the base of the hill, bursting out of the forest. He skidded to a stop, and moved back the the outskirts of the fores, hiding there. A few seconds later, the group landed on the crest of the hill, and he watched the drama for the third time. The part where he got touched by Kagome, then Sango flipping out over his little arousal, and then Sango and Miroku taking off, while the past me ran down the hill, and Kagome stood at the top of the hill, firing off arrow after arrow. I crept up behind her, and vowed, for the last time, to protect her with my life. I waited until the right time, and then scanned the area, looking for the demon that had killed Kagome. Suddenly, I saw the demon rear up, and get ready to attack Kagome. I jumped into action, slashing the demon into pieces, noting the look of surprise on Kagomes face. I stared at her flushed face, she stared at me, and then I looked behind me to see the past InuYasha stare at me in disbelief. I raised my sword, and InuYasha nodded, taking off to find Naraku. I guarded Kagome a while longer, unable to answer the questions she threw at me. Suddenly, after about ten minutes of fighting, all the demons suddenly stopped, and faded away to nothing, and I knew it was over. Sango and Miroku came out, carrying InuYashas body, and I wondered what would happen if my body died in the past, would I cease to exist?

We sat around the fire, and I stared at my past prone body, willing him to wake up. Kagome wouldn't stop staring at me, and it was getting annoying. Suddenly, I felt faint, and indeed, I was beginning to fade, as I looked at myself. The past me started to stir, and I knew that both of our consciousnesses couldn't exist in the same timeline. Kagome rushed over to me, and grabbed my fading hand.  
"Thank you, InuYasha." She said, as I faded away.

InuYasha woke up, and Kagome threw her arms around his neck.  
"Oh, my God, I'm so glad your okay, InuYasha." She said, seeming to have no memory of what had just happened with the past and present Inuyasha. InuYasha sat up fast.

"Where is he? I gotta find him." He said, getting up.

Kagome stared at him, with an odd look on her face. "What're you talking about, InuYasha?" She asked.

InuYasha stopped, and sat down.

'What the hell happened...' He thought, seeming the only one to remember the incident. 'Did Kagome know that she had died, and he had been given another chance to go back in time, and correct his mistakes?' He wondered, sitting back down.

AN well, dont flame me too too hard for the likeness of Price Of Persia: Warrior Within, its pretty kewl so far, I think. Okay, it might not seem too clear right now, but I made it that way, and the next few chapters will clear that up...and BTW, it wasnt Naraku that InuYasha killed...or was it?  
Please review, and this story will get a lot clearer, in time.


	3. Some goodness XD

The Sickness, Chapter 3.

Naraku stood up, and immediately fell to his knees. He tried to stand, and was assisted by Kagura, as she hooked her arm under his, supporting him. He turned to find Kanna standing silently behind him, and he grunted, startled by her unannounced appearance. He looked into her magical mirror, and growled in disgust as he witnessed the last few minutes of his near demise at the hands of InuYasha. He was about to turn away when something caught his eye. He watched as InuYasha unleashed the Wind Scar, immediately followed by the Backlash wave. Right before the amassed energy slammed into him, he saw a dark figure jump in front of the energy wave, sacrificing itself for Naraku. As he watched that, and watched the figures mouth move as he spoke, even while being disintegrated, something in Naraku clicked, and he unlocked that which was better left forgotten.

"Die, InuYasha! Your friends are already dead, and your next!" Naraku said, feeling confident as to his victory. Suddenly his energy attack was vaporized, as the Wind Scar tore through it, and ripped toward his body. The few fragments of energy that hadn't been torn asunder were doubled and thrown back at him as the Backlash Wave came out of the dizzying haze of energy, and followed the Wind Scar toward him like a dog trailing a scent. For the first time since being confronted with that wenches Purifying Arrow, he felt real fear. All too soon the waves were upon him, threatening to envelope and destroy him. Suddenly, out of no where, Naraku glimpsed a flicker of shadow as it dashed in front of him, seeming to try to sacrifice it's life to spare Naraku's. Naraku gasped as he glimpsed the figure that looked startlingly likke him, and was even more amazed when this figure seemed to cast no shadow, despite all the bright lights being cast around by the impending energy. As the waves tore into the sacrifices body, Naraku felt his body and mind being gripped by total and mortal fear as he recognised himself, seemingly from the future. The figure, in the midst of being torn asunder, turned and looked directly into Naraku's eyes, and spoke.

"Listen closely, Naraku. I am your future self. You have gained enough strength, and power, that you had unknowingly summoned me as your final trick to ace InuYasha, but this is a double edged sword, like all great tricks. As I am dead, you now have very limited time to kill InuYasha and fix the timeline before you catch up to my present time, where you will be removed from the timeline, and cease to exist...Forever." Naraku watched with paralyzed eyes as his future self was split down the centre, even whilst still talking. In that brief instant of watching his future self die, Naraku's whole life was replayed before him, and in a single instant, he watched how every single fight he had went horribly wrong, and was forced to endure the endless pain of being burned to death by that demon slayers two-tailed cat, then impaled by InuYasha's sword and left to become food for countless vultures, and even saw himself being dissolved by his own poison vapors, screaming as his skin burned and itched as if he were being devoured by it. Suddenly it was over, and a long silence ensued, in which he saw that time was frozen, with little pieces of his future self scattered across the breeze, and InuYasha's two attacks frozen like giant energy waves, hovering in the sky. In the last instant of glitched time, Naraku glanced between the Scars of Wind, to see the victorious face of his enemy, InuYasha. Then a tiny scream started up, slowly growing in volume until it threatened to split Naraku's eardrums, then an enormous explosion followed by the restart of Time itself, and the remainder of InuYasha's attack hit Naraku, knocking him out, and tearing him up, yet he was still alive, for his future self had dissipated most of the attack. Before Naraku passed out, he glimpsed the look of relief upon InuYasha's face as he fainted from blood loss, his friends running up behind him to catch him and congratulate him on the slaying of Naraku. 'But I'm not dead, and you will all pay the price...' Naraku thought, before crumpling to the ground.

_'Bang!'  
_

Naraku opened his eyes, and gasped, sweat pouring down his face as he recounted his fate.

"What happened, Naraku?" Kagura asked, sitting down beside him. Naraku was silent for a minute, before looking at her, startling her with the look of intensity in his eyes.

"Kagura..." He said soflty, "I just bore witness to something no mortal man could bear to see without going crazy from fear, being driven insane wondering how and when he would die. And I must kill InuYasha, or suffer a death more painful than your wildest nightmares, and endless, at that." He shuddered at the thought of failing, and being subjected to an endless eternal fate of being tortured and burned in a place that could only be accurately described as pure Hell. He raised his head, and shook it off, trying not to think of it. He tried to gauge how much time he had left before he was erased from the Timeline, but found it impossible to concentrate. His only thought was how to finally kill InuYasha for good, and do so in a manner that ensured his continued Existence in the Timeline. Just that single thought of being deleted from the Timeline brought forth more horrible and unbearable images of what would happen to him if he failed, accompanied by an endless screaming, the inhuman sounding scream of a tortured and petrified animal.

InuYasha sat down, and once again grinned as he had often done when he thought of his slaying of Naraku. Just that thought made him feel more happiness than he had felt in a while, and on impulse he grabbed Kagome's hand as she walked by, and pulled her down beside him, putting his arms around her and hugging her tightly, making her blush. He let her go, and tried to advoid looking her in the eyes, hence not noticing her lean down to place a kiss on his cheek, making him jump. He looked at her, blushing, and she smiled at him.

"You did it, InuYasha, you killed him, and avenged us all. Miroku's a half-atestament to that...seeing as his wind tunnel shrunk considerably, but didn't disappear..."

"No Kagome, we all did it. I wouldn't have even gotten half as close to him if it wasn't for the great work of Sango and Miroku, and you too. Besides your purifying arrows, you...you were in my heart, and just the thought of you kept me going, and made me try twice as hard as I knew I possibly could. You pushed me past my limit, and drove me to succeed. Thank you, Kagome. Really." He said the last part quietly, his face heating up again, and he looked away from her, toward the setting sun as it threw colour all over the sky, painting it a fiery red, yellow, and orange. Kagome looked at his profile, and decided to let it all out now that Naraku was gone, and couldn't interfere and tear them away from each other. If he would let me, she corrected herself. 'Naraku might've torn apart InuYasha and Kikyo, but now that he's dead, I'll be the one to heal his heart, and stay beside him, now that it's over.'

Kagome leaned toward him, and placed a gentle hand on the side of his face, making him look toward her. She kissed him softly on the lips, and his eyes opened wide in surprise, before sliding closed as he gave himself up to her, deepening the kiss and letting her tongue venture into his mouth hesitantly. He groaned, and put his hand on the back of her neck, tilting his head as Kagome leaned into the kiss. She pulled away slowly, and a blush slowly deepened over her face, making InuYasha grin.

"Um, InuYasha, I...I want you to know that I lov-"

"Uh, did we inturrupt something? 'Cause we can walk right back out and act like we never seen nothing, ya know." Miroku said, leaning against the wall near the door, with his arm around Sango's shoulders, his hand brushing dangerously close to her breast. Sango was blushing furiously, but had decided to put up with it, thinking that maybe he wouldn't be a perv, if just for tonight.

"So what did you guys want? Besides to come bug us, I mean." Kagome said jokingly.

"Aww, nothing in particular," Sango said, stepping over Shippous sleeping body to walk over to InuYasha. "Just coming over to congratulate the hero of the hour, InuYasha." She smiled a genuine, happy smile at InuYasha, and reached down to him to run her fingers through his hair, scratching his ears at the same time. InuYasha closed his eyes, and purred, eliciting a giggle from Sango. She dropped down to her knees, as InuYasha was sitting down on the ground, and brought her face close to InuYasha's.

"Don't read too much into this InuYasha, but..." She leaned forward and supported herself by placing a hand on InuYasha's shoulder, before placing a soft, gentle kiss on his lips. InuYasha gasped as her soft lips touched his, and he blushed deeply, never expecting this from Sango, of all people. Suddenly, Sango overbalanced, and fell forward, landing on top of InuYasha. She broke the lip-lock, and stared at InuYasha. InuYasha grinned, feeling her body against his.

"Ya know, for a demon slayer, you sure got a bad sense of balance." He said, smirking. She blushed and pushed herself off of him, offering her hand to him, helping him up. As he rose, he looked around him and realized that all this time that he thought he had no friends, and no one to trust, there had been trustworthy people all around him, people that had graciously lowered themselves to his pitiful level, just by being near him, and being seen with him, yet did so without a second thought. He thought about it for a second, before being jolted out of his thoughts by Kagome. "Come on, InuYasha, time to celebrate!" She said, handing him a bowl of sakè. he took it, and smiled at her. "Thanks, Kagome." Suddenly he was grabbed by Sango and Miroku as they dragged him outside, into the fresh air, which somehow felt cleaner, less polluted now that Naraku was dead. Miroku led them all to a hill that overlooked the village, and they sat on the cool grass, looking up into the night sky, with its millions of stars, and the bright, yet tiny sliver of moon, signaling the start of the new moon, which would take place tomorrow. InuYasha looked up into the sky and saw the moon, and realized what it meant. He smirked.

"Tomorrow I'm gonna lose my powers, for a whole damn day, so it looks like I had better start making use of them tonight, while I still can." He whispered in Kagomes ear. She looked at him. "Oh, yeah, InuYasha?"

"Oh, yeah." He said, sniffing her neck. She giggled, and pushed him away, only to have him come even closer to her, staring at her with his bright, golden coloured orbs. He crawled on top of her, and pinned her arms down on the ground, kissing her on the mouth. Kagome closed her eyes and kissed him back, trying to put all of her feelings for him into that one kiss, yet knowing that one simple kiss wouldn't even come close to measuring up to her feelings for him. When the kiss ended, she stared up at him, and smiled, happy to see that InuYasha was finally loosening up, and wasn't acting all uptight and angry. InuYasha rolled off her and took a sip from the bowl of sakè that Kagome had given him, and squirmed uncomfortably as the feiry liquid burned its way down his throat. He coughed, covering his mouth with his hand, blushing as Kagome laughed at him, rubbing his back. Miroku heard him coughing, and laughed also, his arm around Sango as they sat on the other side of Kagome, staring at the stars and talking quietly to each other about what would happen now that Naraku was dead, and revealing things to each other that had had to stay hidden before, because who knew what Naraku might've tried.

When InuYasha wasn't looking, Miroku slipped the sakè jug in Kagomes direction, and she slyly filled up his bowl again, hoping he didn't notice. She slipped the jug behind her back to Miroku again, and placed her hand on top of InuYasha's, enjoying his company, wondering where things would go from here. She sighed. The biggest threat and challenge facing them was no more, yet things were far from over. There was Kohaku, Sango ached to see him again, now free from Naraku's grasp, then there was the matter of Kikyo, and Kagome, after kissing InuYasha, wanted him more, and was damned if she was gonna lose to some dead bitch.

'Oops, hehe, think the alcohol is getting to me...I'm getting angry at a dead girl.'  
InuYasha put his arm around Kagome's shoulder and pulled her against him, letting her lean on his shoulder. InuYasha was on his third bowl of sakè, and was already red in the face, knowing that he shouldn't have had so much for his first time drinking it. InuYasha yawned, and laid back onto the grass, Kagome laying down with him. She snuggled up against him, and glanced at him as he put his arms behind his head, and stretched his legs out, staring up into the sky. She put her leg over his lower body, half straddling him as she rested her hand on his chest. InuYasha tried not to look at her, but his tell-tale blush betrayed his feelings and she giggled as she slid her hand up toward his neck. She caressed his neck, and leaned forward to kiss his throat, and lick his collar bone. She kissed him on the mouth, sliding her tongue into his mouth and running her fingers through his hair, gently massaging and rubbing his soft furry ears between her fingers, making him elicit a half-groan, half-moan. Kagome smiled slightly as she heard him moan and groan, but didn't break the kiss, slipping her hands down to his haori. She undid the fastenings holding it together, and slid over his body with a leg on either side of him, straddling him. She kissed his smooth toned chest, and ran her fingers over his sexy stomach. As she leaned down to kiss him on the stomach, her long black hair brushed against him, making him shudder as it tickled him. She giggled, and kissed him again, gasping as his hands gently gripped her hips, sliding down as he felt her smooth tight ass through her mini-skirt. She moaned as he slipped a hand around to the front of her, and touched her through her slightly wet panties. InuYasha tried to cover her moan with a kiss, but it escaped, and Miroku finally had enough.

"Okay, that's it, if you two wanna make out, go somewhere else, I'm trying to enjoy the peace and quiet of the night with my dear Sango." He said, turning back around and sliding his arm around her waist. "Now get out of here, I'm getting embarrassed just listening to you."

InuYasha laughed, and Miroku said nothing, knowing that with his reputation he sounded unbelievable. Kagome groaned as InuYasha sat up, and she moved into his lap, letting him wrap his arms around her, keeping her warm from the cool night air. InuYasha kissed the back of her neck, and held her as she leaned back into his chest, his hands caressing her stomach. Kagome wondered how many stars there were in the universe, and knew it was impossible to guess at the number. She looked up at just the right time, and was lucky enough to see a shooting star.

"Ahh! InuYasha! Look! A shooting star!" She said, pointing up into the sky as the fiery comet soared across the sky, heading in the direction behind her. She tilted her head back slowly, following it as she made a silent wish, wishing she could work out the problem of her family 500 years in the future, through the well, and wished that she could stay with InuYasha forever. She tilted her head back until she bumped gently against InuYasha's shoulder, and the comet raced out of sight.  
"Kagome..." InuYasha whispered softly.  
Kagome looked to her left to see InuYasha staring at her, his golden eyes filled with emotion. Before Kagome knew what had happened, InuYasha had placed his lips upon hers, and kissed her deeply, and passionately, every second of the kiss filled with the love InuYasha felt for Kagome, and it lasted about a minute. When they slowly pulled apart, and Kagome and InuYasha shared a moment that lasted an eternity.


	4. Death

The Sickness Chapter 4.

InuYasha ran through the woods, sniffing for the scents of any forest animals that Sango and Kagome could turn into lunch. He stopped at a creek and leaned down, lapping up water with his tongue. As he leaned back, wiping his mouth off with his arm, he thought about the battle that had killed Naraku. He sat there, deep in thought,(this is rare people!!!) wondering if he was really who he thought he was. After dying in the present, he went back to the past, and watched as he missed the demon that had killed Kagome again except that he himself had killed it, and then he stayed there and protected her until the end of the battle, then InuYasha was brought out unconscious, he had followed them. When the past InuYasha, the one who killed Naraku, woke up, I dissappeared...yet I'm here now, and how do I know all this?

InuYasha groaned and held his head in his hands, not comprehending it all. He suddenly heard a tiny sniffing sound, and he froze. He waited until the sniffing sound came closer, and out of the corner of his eye he spotted a fat white hare. He licked his lips, and the hare froze, it's back legs tensed, ready to run. InuYasha felt sweat running down the side of his face, and he knew that he was gonna move soon, for all his muscles were burning with the effort of holding the curled up position.

_Ready...steady...GO!!!_

InuYasha leapt up, and the hare bolted. InuYasha chased it, running after it like his life depended on it. He dropped to all fours, and the hare darted to the left. InuYasha tried to follow it, and skidded on the forest dirt. The hare was now running straight toward the village. InuYasha groaned. He had better catch the damn thing before it got to the village, because this was embarrassing. No such luck. InuYasha was way faster than the hare, but the turns and weaves it did kept it just out of InuYasha's reach. They burst out of the forest, and InuYasha cried out Kagome's name.

Thinking it was a demon, Sango immediately whipped her Hiraikotsu at it, before realizing it was a hare. At the last second before she released the weapon, she tweaked her wrist to the left, so that it would miss the hare. InuYasha yelped and ducked low as the bone boomerang whizzed over his head.

"Sango!!!" He screamed. "Watch that thing!"

"Sorry InuYasha!" She called out, catching the returning boomerang.

Kagome reacted the best. She grabbed her bow, strung an arrow, and aimed swiftly. She released the arrow, and it streaked toward the hare, striking it and slicing right through it, coming out the other side. InuYasha grimaced.

"Wah! Thats one hell of an arm there, Kagome. Did you have to go through the hare?"

Kagome shrugged. "Oops."

Sango grinned, throwing her arm around Kagome's shoulder. "Shes getting way better at her shooting, InuYasha. Not to mention that you were chasing the hare like a damn hunting dog."

InuYasha groaned. "Shut up, will ya." He said. He picked up the very dead rabbit, and threw it at Sango. She shreiked, and ducked, laughing as it hit the ground.

"Come on, InuYasha, don't screw with our food, it's gonna get really dirty, and it'll take forever to clean out." She said, picking it up.

InuYasha smirked. "Ya shoulda caught it then." He turned away and ran back to the forest, hunting for more food.

Deep in the forest, InuYasha stopped. He sniffed the air, and felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. He growled, and turned around, scanning the forest, knowing that something was out there. It smelled familiar, but he couldn't place it. He turned again, ears pricked, scanning the shadows of the forest intently. Suddenly, a noise behind him made him draw his Tetsusaiguia and whirl around, snarling angrily. All he saw was a branch swaying gently, as if it had been touched. InuYasha could feel no wind, and it made him nervous. He scanned the area near the swaying branch, and glimpsed a shadow slipping through the trees. He was about to unleash the windscar, but decided against it, for the smell was fading, and so was the shadow. He waited a few seconds, staring at where the shadow had dissappeared, his ears trying to pick up sounds behind him incase the enemy had circled around him.

After a minute or two, he relaxed, sure that whatever had been near him was long gone. He turned around, and came face to face with himself, the last thing he expected. InuYasha yelled in fear, and fell backward, staring at the man in front of him. InuYasha could feel his heart racing, and a look of horror passed over his face.

The man in front of him was him, but horribly disfigured. He was missing his left arm, and he was bleeding out of his eyes, nose and mouth. There were blood stains all over his clothes, and blood was pooling around his feet. InuYasha scrambled backward, wondering if this was his fate. The mans chest was split open, revealing a still beating heart, and part of the lungs.

Suddenly, the lifeless golden eyes of the disfigured half demon flashed, and focussed on InuYasha. And he spoke.

"This is your fate, InuYasha. Here. Right here, you will die. You can do nothing about it. Naraku will kill you. You have no hope left. It will be the girl. She will get into trouble, and you will save her. At the cost of your own life." Then, without warning, the man dropped to his knees, and stayed there for a second. He raised his head, and looked at InuYasha on the ground.

"I am you. The future you. I am dead. So you will die."

With that, the man fell face first into the ground, and something clattered to the ground. InuYasha got up, shaking, and picked it up, inspecting it. It was a tiny gold locket, and InuYasha opened it up with shaking fingers. Inside was a picture of him and Kagome. InuYasha threw it to the ground and turned, running toward the village as fast as he could.

Back at the village, he ran as fast as he could toward the hut. He burst in through the door, screaming Kagome's name.

Kagome looked up, from where she was preparing supper from the rabbit he had caught earlier. InuYasha, breathing heavily, just stared at her, willing himself to calm down and stop. He dropped down on the floor, his mind blank. He continued to stare at her, and she got up, moving to his side.

"InuYasha! What happened?" She asked.

InuYasha shook his head, unblinking.

"I'm dead." He said, in a whisper. "I'm dead. I lost, I'm going to die." He said. Kagome, worried about what had happened to him, began looking him over, searching for any cuts or stab wounds. Finding none, she looked back at his face, jumping at what she saw. His eyes were glassy, having no focus, and she started to get scared.

"InuYasha, please, speak to me!" She said, waving her hand in front of his face. After getting no response, she tried the only thing that had ever gotten his attention before. She kissed him.

She knelt down in front of him, and placed her hand on his cheek, tilting his head up a bit. She leaned in, and pressed her lips against his, closing her eyes. A second later, she felt him respond, and she pulled away, so see if he was alright.

Immediately he pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly. She didn't mind though, and hugged him back, whispering his name in his ear.

She felt him start to tremble, and wondered what could scare InuYasha so badly, but leave no visible marks on his body, no wounds, no evidence of a fight. She let go of him, and looked him in the eye, glad to see that they were back to normal, shining and in focus. InuYasha shook his head.

'I can't think of that right now. I can't tell Kagome either. She already worries too much.' He thought, standing up. Kagome stood with him, and he looked at her, forcing a grin.

"Is the food ready yet?" He asked, and she nodded, grabbing his hand and leading him over. She sat down with him, and they ate their food together, Sango and Miroku coming into the hut a few minutes later.

Kagome said nothing of what had happened, choosing instead to let them eat in peace. InuYasha wasn't voulunteering information, and ate in silence.

After they were done eating, Kagome started counting her Jewel Shards.

"...Five, six, seven, eight. Eight." She said, putting them back inside her shirt. As she moved aside her collar to put the container of Jewel Shards away, InuYasha glimpsed a gold chain around her neck, and his eyes widened. Kagome caught his glance, and removed the necklace, revealing a golden locket on the other end.

InuYasha stared at it, glinting in the firelight.

"I've had this thing forever..." She said, opening it. She turned it so that InuYasha could see the inside. It had a picture of them inside it.

'Just like the one my future self had when he died...' He thought.

Kagome moved over and sat beside him. InuYasha leaned against her, staring at the floor. Just then, Kagome slipped the chain around his neck. InuYasha looked down at it, before glancing at Kagome.

"So you'll never forget me." She said, smiling. InuYasha shook his head.

"Stupid!" He growled. "As if I'd ever forget you." He whispered, looking away. Kagome giggled, and laid her head on his shoulder.

_'Dammit! Already I've got the locket! That means my death isn't far off. I thought I'd have more time. Obviously not...'_

InuYasha sighed, and closed his eyes. He clutched Tetsusuigua to his chest, bowing his head. He could feel Kagome against him, and it comforted him to know she was there. He slowly drifted off to sleep as the fire flickered, casting distorted shadows on the walls.

He awoke in the morning, actually feeling good. He got up, and something tapped against his chest. He looked down, and saw the locket. He gently tucked it inside his haori, before looking around. Everyone was gone, and he wondered where they could be. He pushed aside the doorflap, and came face to face with Sango. He jumped in surprise, and moved to the side, holding it open for her.

"Thanks InuYasha." She said, walking in with an armful of wood. She dumped it in the corner, and walked back out, InuYasha right behind her.

"Hey Sango, do you know where Kagome is?" He asked. Sango nodded.

"Yeah, she went into the forest, saying she heard you mention the forest in your sleep." Sango said. "Didn't know you were a talkative one, InuYasha." She said, laughing. InuYasha shook his head.

"Whatever you say." He said, jumping into the air. "Thanks!" He yelled down, before disappearing out of sight. Sango watched him disappear, before turning back to the wood pile.

InuYasha ran through the forest, all senses alert, determined not to have another encounter like the last one. He ran through the forest, sniffing for Kagome's scent, and calling her name.

He stopped, and inhaled deeply, finding no trace of Kagome's scent.

_'Maybe I'm in too deep, she probably isn't anywhere near this deep into the forest.' _ He thought, turning around. He began running back, when something made him stop. It was that scent. He started to tremble, as memories of yesterday flooded through his mind, brought on by the scent. He drew Tetsusuigua, and spun in circles, thinking that no matter what happened, he would not let anything ever sneak up on him like that again. He glanced at every tree and bush that surrounded him, and felt fear creeping into him like a dark shadow, all the trees seeming to lean in toward him, trapping him.

He looked around for an exit, in case he had to run, but couldn't find a path. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and snarled disgustedly.

"I'm sick of running, being scared. Fuck whatever's out there. I ain't running anymore!" InuYasha said, sheathing his Tetsusuigua.

'You wanna play sneaky?' He thought, flexing his claws. 'Thats fine with me.'

He crouched down low, and crept into the foilage, every sense on overdrive. He was aware of the dead air, no wind, and the worm crawling through the dirt, an inch from his toe. He felt the soil beneath his fingers, and heard every 'thump' that his hands and fett made, no matter how gently he put them down. With every muscle tense, he pushed aside a leaf, seeing a clearing in front of him.

"Oh, fuck me." InuYasha whispered, not believing what he was seeing.

He was staring at himself, but his past self, at his back. InuYasha remembered what happened after this, for it took place just yesterday. InuYasha withdrew, and his haori rustled against a branch, making a loud rasping sound in the still, quiet air. InuYasha quickly backed up, and raised himself up into a crouch.

He saw himself spin around, drawing the Tetsusuigua, staring directly at the spot where InuYasha had been. InuYasha saw the branch he had touched still bobbing, and that was what the past InuYasha now looked at.

InuYasha, ran as softly as he could around the clearing, hoping that he didn't get seen. He dropped down on the ground, and just in time, for the past InuYasha whirled around.

Suddenly, InuYasha, laying in the dirt, started to sweat and shake.

_'After this...after this I get a surprise visit by my future self, all chopped up.' _ InuYasha thought. _'But if I'm here, watching my past self, then that means...'_

InuYasha's eyes widened as he realized that he was the future, and was about to be attacked. He turned around, just in time to see a shadow behind him. InuYasha looked at it, and saw nothing but a dark spot where there should be light. It seemed to be coming out of the ground, little tendrils creeping out of the soil to converge on a single spot, forming this horrible monster shadow that InuYasha now saw. The shadow had two pure white eyes, and they seemed to leave little vapor trails behind them as the shadow wavered back and forth. InuYasha swore that he had seen it move as he had been turning around, but now, as he lay on his back in the dirt, staring up at this monster, just swaying back and forth, a mere shadow, and sometimes completely indiscernable from the environment around it, before fading back into focus. The only thing that was always completely visible were the eyes, pure white, and empty, leaving a tiny white residue as they moved. The residue would cling to the air, never falling, as if gravity had no effect on it, before fading slowly.

InuYasha wondered just what it was, before finally unfreezing, and reacting. He drew his sword, slashing across the middle of the demon, separating the shadow. InuYasha scrambled to his feet, and ran, not waiting to see if the demon was dead, or if it could even die. InuYasha ran as fast as he could, but for some reason, he didn't seem to be going anywhere. He tried to concentrate, and thought that the edge of the forest was to his right, only a few hundred metres away. He turned to the right, and ran faster than he ever had in his life, something in his gut telling him that the shadow must never reach him. Suddenly, InuYasha felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Sweat started to roll down his face, soaking his shirt.

"It's right behind me...It's gonna get me...It's my time to die!" InuYasha said, unable to shake the feeling of absolute dread. InuYasha risked a glance behind him, and what he saw only made him run faster. The shadow was pursuing him, and it was having a fairly easy time doing it. InuYasha had to run around rocks and mud, and jump over fallen trees, while the shadow seemed to pass right through and over these things. InuYasha saw a tiny black tendril shoot out, and reach toward him. InuYasha looked forward, and jumped another tree that had been broken. He knew the tree, it was one that had been knocked down in a wind storm that they had had, a few weeks back.

It meant that he was close to the edge of the forest, and it only made him work harder. InuYasha couldn't breathe, and his legs felt heavy, but he continued running. Behind him, the shadow was right on his heels. InuYasha felt something tugging on his body, and as he was running, he saw twigs and loose grass raise off the ground, and fly back past him, toward the demon. InuYasha took another look back, and saw that the entire center of the demon was a darker patch of black than the rest of it, and all the loose objects in it's path were being drawn into it, disappearing. InuYasha felt the tugging on his body get stronger, and he looked down at his feet, seeing black tendrils shooting out infront of him, signalling that the shadow was right on his heels. InuYasha looked up, and saw a light shining through the trees up ahead. He raced as hard as he could toward it, head bowed, willing himself not to give up. He burst out of the forest, and fell onto the grass, his chest heaving. He couldn't run any further. InuYasha closed his eyes, and waited to be sucked into the demon. A second later, he realized that the pull he had felt on his body was gone. He opened his eyes, and sat up, staring back into the forest where he had come from. He saw only the trees, but the ominous feeling was still there, foreboding. InuYasha got up, and walked over to the edge of the forest, peering into it, squinting. He couldn't see anything. He sighed, and wondered what the hell had attacked him, when suddenly, the shadow burst up out of the ground, screaming a loud, grating, unholy scream. InuYasha yelped, and fell down onto his back, staring at the enraged demon. The white eyes glowed dagerously, but the demon seemed reluctant to come out of the forest. InuYasha sat there and watched it sway side to side, not moving an inch. InuYasha didn't dare to enter the forest, and it seemed that the demon didn't dare leave it. InuYasha walked a bit closer to it, and suddenly, the black tendrils shot out of the demon, toward InuYasha. InuYasha, slow to react, watched as they raced toward his chest, but then they were gone, dissolving as they encountered the sunlight, half an inch from his chest. InuYasha clamped his hands down over his ears as it howled in pain and rage.

InuYasha turned and walked away, wondering how his search for the Jewel Shards and his fight with Naraku had turned to this. The ominous feeling had left the air, and the sun brightened. InuYasha looked over his shoulder, and the demon was gone, presumably it had returned to the depths of the forest, or into the ground.

Just then, a cloud passed over the sun, and a tiny bit of the demons aura was felt. InuYasha ran back to the hut, and ripped open the door flap, yelling Miroku's name.

Miroku, sitting on the floor, stood up at InuYasha's abrupt entry.

InuYasha sat down, and told Miroku everything, about yesterday, feeling the presence, and then about today, seeing himself, and realizing that he was about to die, evading the demon and running out of the forest. He told him about how the sunlight had stopped the demon, and there Miroku's face hardened.

"What's going on, Miroku?" InuYasha asked. "Do you know anything about that demon?"

Miroku clutched his staff. He looked at InuYasha with hard, violet eyes.

"Listen InuYasha, and listen well." Miroku said. Just then, Sango and Kagome entered. They sat down, and saw the look of concentration on Miroku's face. They said nothing.

"What is happening, is theres a problem in the way things are supposed to be. A big problem. Something is supposed to happen in the future, something important, but at the same time, whatever it is does not concern us. What appears to be the problem is that in order for this thing to take place, someone, either you or Naraku, has to die. You have to be completely gone, for interference with this thing cannot be tolerated, and at the same time, if you were both allowed to live, then your constant fighting would ultimately set some chain of events in motion that would, somewhere along the line, upset the worlds natural balance, and stop this important event from happening properly. So, time is taking its course, and attempting to kill one of you. It's not specific, or prejudiced, it simply wants one of you dead, and unfortunately, you can't contol time. Time contols you. So, you must ensure that Naraku is the one to die, or you will die instead. About that thing that chased you, InuYasha, I'm afraid that it's not a demon."

"What?" InuYasha asked. "Then what is it?" Miroku held up his hand.

"Also, you cannot kill it, for it is already dead." All around the room there were looks of confusion.

"You see," Miroku said, "That thing cannot die, for it is Death itself. Death chooses who lives and who dies, and I don't think that it will choose to kill itself anytime soon. And you were smart to run for the edge of the forest instead of fight, InuYasha. It despises light, so stalks it's victims in dark places, and at night. I fear that you have dodged death so much with your previous escapades, that it won't set up clever ways for you to die anymore. It will just come after you directly, until you are dead. You have seen Death, InuYasha, and now Death won't rest until you are dead. You can't see Death and live to tell about it. You are out of time, InuYasha. I honestly don't know if killing Naraku is enough anymore, it seems your destined to die no matter what."

With that, Miroku turned, and leaned against the wall, leaving InuYasha to think about what he said.

InuYasha looked around at the people that stood by him, through thick and thin. He clenched his fists and growled.

"I don't give a fuck what it is, if I'm going to die, then I'm going to die my way." He said, grabbing his Tetsusuigua.

Kagome jumped up, and stood in front of him, putting her hands on his chest.

"No, please InuYasha, stay here!!" She said. "It's almost dark out."

InuYasha felt his heart racing. "I know." He said, and already he could feel the ground trembling.

He looked to Miroku and Sango. He could hear the wind starting to blow outside.

"Guys, get Kagome out of here, to a safe place!" He said. Sango and Miroku nodded. They grabbed Kagome's arms, and despite her protests, dragged her out the door. InuYasha followed them, and watched them get on Kirara.

"Hey!" InuYasha called out, above the wind that was blowing, getting stronger every minute. Kagome looked at him, and he walked over to her. He put his arms around her and kissed her, hugging her tightly.

"I love you, Kagome." He whispered, before letting go.

He turned to Sango, and she hugged him, her arms tight around his body.

"Good luck, InuYasha." She said, her mouth by his ear. She slipped him her tiny dagger that she always carried in her sleeve, and told him it was so that he would have a last fighting chance when he was down on the ground, with no weapons in sight.

InuYasha nodded, and Sango wiped a few tears from her eyes, knowing full well that this could be the last time she saw him, dead or alive. Miroku held out his hand, and InuYasha shook it, before pulling him into a hug.

"Don't let anything happen to Kagome, Sango, or yourself, okay?" InuYasha asked, and Miroku nodded. They pulled apart, and InuYasha felt the ground tremble violently.

"Go go go!" He said, waving. Kagome, with tears in her eyes, screamed his name as Kirara lifted all three of them into the air. InuYasha watched them disappear, before sheathing Sango's blade in his haori.

"This is my fight." He said, turning around. "I'm not gonna run anymore!"

And with that, he drew his Tetsusuigua, and ran toward the far off shadows, feet pounding against the trembling earth, the dark sky rumbling as lightning filled the sky.


	5. Surviving Death

The Sickness Chapter 5

InuYasha, running toward the battle that was distant on the horizon, told himself not to think of anything other than the fact that he was destined to die, and Kagome was waiting for him. He figured that if he defied death, than that made him better than his brother, Naraku, his father, and anybody else. He continued to run toward the battle, the scent of demons, death, and something else reaching his nose. His eyes widened, and he realized that Naraku was in on this battle. A three way battle, with the other two against both him and each other. Either way it would be a battle for the ages. InuYasha began to make out individual shapes in the distance, and he unleashed the Wind Scar, at the same time a lightning bolt sliced across the sky, and thunder rumbled. With the noise of the Scar disguised by the thunder, it roared toward the pack of demons that were fighting, Naraku's spawn, and Death and his spawn. A large number of the demons were cut down as the Wind Scar tore through their ranks, but it did little to reduce the number of foes that he would face. As soon as they became aware that there was another fighter, the whole wave of demons turned, and joined forces temporarily, coming after InuYasha.

InuYasha growled, and met them head on, screaming his rage as he sliced left and right, killing as many demons as he could. Almost immediately, he began to recieve many cuts and lacerations, but they weren't that bad, and he couldn't feel them. All around him, the earth pulsed with it's own beat as many more demons rose up from the earth, to replace the ones that died.

'Can you feel that?'

InuYasha continued running through the group, lashing out to the left and right with his sword, his feet pounding onto the ground in time with the earths pulse. Visible shock waves were coming out of the ground, and the ground vibrated with every step that InuYasha took. He knew that his only chance to stay alive was to keep moving.

Suddenly, he had nowhere to run, the demons surrounding him, demons of every type and size, all with sharply curved sabres and long, razor sharp katanas.

'Aw shit...'

The pulsing increased, and InuYasha took a sword thrust through the back. InuYasha screamed, and whipped around, slashing the demon in two with his claws. Again, he was attacked from behind, this time, a demon attempted to slash his hamstring, and InuYasha cried out in pain. He fell to one knee, and the demons surrounded him. InuYasha tried not to think of the pain, and he coughed a few times, blood coming up. He wiped his mouth off, and gripped the handle of the Tetsusuigua better, tensing up.

'Drowning deep in my sea of loathing...'

InuYasha grimaced, and he focused on the demons nearest to him. He focused on the thought of Kagome, and how he had been forced to fight, and leave her behind. He had nothing but disgust and a strong loathing hatred for these demons, and he wanted to kill them all, but there were so many.

'Broken, your servant I kneel.'

InuYasha, on his knees, wondered what was wrong with himself.

'Will you give in to me?'

InuYasha shook his head. He wouldn't bow for nobody, and he stood up, swinging his sword around him, slashing the heads off a few of the surrounding demons.

'It seems what's left of my human side is slowly changing in me.'

InuYasha, despite having a firm grip on his sword, began to feel the bloodlust and infinite anger of his demon side creeping up inside him, ready to take over.

'Will you give in to me?'

InuYasha thought again that he wouldn't bow down to no one, and he would fight until he dropped, hoping that somehow, whether he lived or died, he could see Kagome one last time.

'Looking in my own reflection, when suddenly it changes. Violently it changes.'

The demons, sensing the change in his blood, retreated a few steps, raising their katanas and sabres in front of them, guarding against him. So thick were the number of demons that their swords mingled, clanking off each other and almost touching. InuYasha looked at the demons, and saw his broken reflection in the demon's swords. He was flexing his claws, over and over again, and baring his fangs. Suddenly, without warning, InuYasha shuddered violently, feeling the blood in his veins heat up as his eyes flushed red, and his claws and teeth lengthened. InuYasha dropped his sword. It clattered to the ground, bouncing off the dirt and rocks once, coming to rest a few feet away.

'There is no turning back now, you've woken up the demon in me.'

InuYasha snarled, and ran toward the pack of demons on swift feet, knocking aside their swords with his bare hands, never minding the cuts he recieved as a result. He couldn't feel it anyway.

'Open up your hate and let it flow into me.'

InuYasha could smell their anger and fear, and he preyed on it, turning their fear into sheer terror as he massecred their numbers, blood flying everywhere, his hands already bloody up to the elbows. Their hate he preyed on, letting them attack, for their anger and hate clouded their judgement, and they made mistakes, and that's when InuYasha killed them.

'Madness is the gift that has been given to me.'

InuYasha, unfeeling of the swords that peirced his chest, and the sabres that sliced him open, continued to hunt relentlessly through the pack, searching for Naraku, and Death.

'I can see inside you the sickness is rising, don't try to deny what you feel.'

InuYasha was losing his mental connection to his body. No longer a bystander to the slaughter, InuYash's half demon side was being completely supressed by the demon blood, and he struggled to remain conscious, and retain a bit of humanity.

'It seems that all that was good has died, and is decaying in me.'

InuYasha lost the struggle, and his consciousness faded to nothingness as his body continued it's destructive rampage, never heeding the damage it was taking as well. Finally, InuYasha found Naraku and Death fighting, and InuYasha blindsided Naraku, slicing his head off. Before he had a chance to regenerate, InuYasha thrust his hand into Naraku's chest, blood spraying everywhere. He ripped out the heart, and started squeezing it. His nails punctured the heart, and finally, InuYasha closed his fist on it, the heart mashed to a bloody pulp. InuYasha dropped the mush, and turned to where Death floated, staring at him with his pure white eyes.

'It seems that you're having some trouble in dealing with these changes. Living with these changes.'

InuYasha, completely oblivious to the fact that Death couldn't be killed, charged in, clawing at the shadow. If you can't live with the changes, then you'll just have to die.

InuYasha slashed at Death, but was getting nowhere. Suddenly, Death faded away, leaving InuYasha alone with the thousands of demons that still hungered for his blood.

'The world is a scary place, now that you've woken up the demon in me.'

InuYasha grinned, flexed his claws, and ran toward the demons, starting a killing spree that would last for hours.

InuYasha, completely drenched in blood, wandered into the camp some hours later, surprising Kagome. As soon as she realized that the dark figure limping toward her was InuYasha, she jumped up, dropped her water bucket, and ran to him, hugging him.

"Oh, InuYasha, I was s--"

A loud growling sound stopped her, and she looked up into his face. His head was bowed, his chin touching his chest. She reached up, and tilted his head up, gasping as she saw his dark red eyes glaring back at her. She pulled away, and looked at herself, covered in blood. It was like deep red stain, and as she tried to wipe the blood off her hands, it smudged, leaving a deep red smear on her hands and arms. She looked back at InuYasha, just in time to see him faint. He dropped, and hit the ground, not moving. Kagome ran to his side, and saw the massive amount of cuts all over his body, and she called out for Sango and Miroku.

They came running out, and Miroku shook his head.

"Amazing, he actually survived." He said, pondering the fact. "Then what has become of Death?"

Sango immediately took off, getting a bucket of water and some rags, as well as Kagome's back pack.

As Sango rushed back with these things, she arrived just in time to see InuYasha raise his hand, his eyes opening slightly.

"Ka-Kagome..." He said, weakly. His voice was raspy and rough, deep sounding, and he still had a hint of red tinge to his eyes. He opened his hand, and there, lying in his palm, was the locket that she had given him. Kagome picked it up, and opened it. The picture of them was still in there, and she closed it, putting it around her neck. She bent down, and kissed InuYasha on the forehead, pushing his hair back. She ruffled his ears, noticing that his left ear had been cut almost off. An inch of tattered skin held it on, and she swallowed, feeling nauseous. She waited until InuYasha's eyes closed again, before grabbing her first aid kit. She withdrew a needle, threaded it, and hesitated. She looked at InuYasha's face, eyes closed, blood smears on his chin and cheeks, and she took a deep breath.

'For him.' She thought, thrusting the needle through his skin. InuYasha's other ear twitched, but apart from that, he was calm. She continued sewing it up, and Sango worked on getting his haori off. Finally, after struggling to take his arms out of the sleeves, she reached for her dagger to cut it open, but instead, found no dagger.

She remembered that she had given it to InuYasha, and searched his waistband, finding it on the left side of his body. She took it, and slit his shirt open from neck to hem, revealing a wound far worse than a cut ear.

Kagome and Sango gasped as they looked at the bloody ragged hole in his abdomen, and Miroku grimaced.

'Maybe death will find him after all...' He thought, but didn't say anything, instead letting the girls work on him. Sango noticed that the hole in his stomach was unusually clean, so she started bandaging him up right away. Kagome started disinfecting his other wounds, letting Sango work on the serious injury, for she had the stomach for it, as well as the experience. When they finished, they helped Miroku pull InuYasha closer to the camp, laying him out next to the fire. With nothing else they could do for him, they laid down, trying to sleep. Kagome laid down next to InuYasha, putting her arm around his waist. She put her face in the crook of his neck, and kissed him once, whispering softly.

"I hope you get better InuYasha, please."

With that, she fell asleep, the fire flickering on throughout the night.

Later that night...

The black shadow flitted across the grass, in full power now that there was no light shining, not even the moon. Completely invisible against the black night background, with no scent to give it away, Death melted in and out of the surrounding forest, heading for the fire that burned, not too far away.

As it arrived, it stopped, and stared at the Hanyou laying by the fire. Everyone was asleep, not knowing that Death was inches away, and could take any one of them away from the world of the living if it so chose.

InuYasha's dream...

_I rushed through the forest, trying to regain my bearings. Suddenly, I felt the feeling. I drew my sword, and spun around, looking Death in the face. I was paralysed by fear, much like any other nightmare I had dreamt, but it slowly became obvious that if I died in my dream, then I was finished in real life. I tried to raise my sword, but couldn't, having no muscle control._

Back to Death...

A tendril of black mist shot out and stopped, hovering over Death's head. A pure black sythe, solid, not a shadow, formed in the grasp of the shadow, and Death held it there, his white eyes flicking into focus, looking down at InuYasha.

InuYasha's dream...

_"What the hell do you want with me? Naraku is dead, I killed him! No more problems with the big event in the future, whatever the hell that is, and you shouldn't be here!"_

_InuYasha watched as Death raised the scythe, and suddenly the blade flashed white, pure white, and InuYasha had only a half-second to wonder what that meant before Death brought the scythe down upon him, everything fading to black as pain thrashed his body._

Back to Death...

The blade flashed white, and Death bought it thundering down toward InuYasha's prone body, the blade peircing the center of InuYash's chest. The scythe, sticking out of InuYasha's chest, pulsed a few times, white shockwaves rippling over his body. Slowly it began to fade, leaving no wound or trace of it entering InuYasha's chest. Death turned, and faded back into the surrounding hills, heading for the forest.

"Gahh!!!" InuYasha awoke with a start, sweat coursing down his face and chest. Breathing heavily, he looked around at Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara, and sighed. It was over. He could feel it. The constant tension in the air was gone, the fear was dissipating, he felt great. He laid back down, and for the first time in a long time, smiled a smile of pure joy. He hugged Kagome to him, and fell asleep, and for once, he had no dreams.

InuYasha awoke the next morning, and told everyone what had happened. Shippo was scared that something that InuYasha described as so scary had gotten so close to them while they were sleeping, but all in all, everyones mood had lightened considerably.

"Think of it, InuYasha," Miroku said, slapping him on the back. "Your the only person that we know of, the only person ever, actually, to defy Death, and have Death acknowledge your extreme will to live." He said, shaking his head. "Marvelous, simply marvelous."

InuYasha grinned. "I'm just glad it's over, I'm glad that we're all okay." He said, hugging Kagome tightly. He looked out at the perfect blue sky, and looked toward the rising sun.

"No matter what happens in the future, we can handle it." InuYasha said, and the group nodded. InuYasha's personal hell was over, he survived, and he was all the stronger because of it. Which was good. Though none of them knew it, they would find themselves being tested again, soon.

A/N The final chapter is finished. InuYasha survived. Look out for a sequel. It'll come soon.


End file.
